It all started when I was seven years old. This was a very emotional time in my life; a family friend decided to give us a dog to help our family cope with the recent death of one of my older sisters. Dogs don’t ask for much, but they can give so much in return.

Dogs are personal therapists – I spent hours talking to Shelby about everything. No details were ever left out. She knew everything from that time that I found chewed bubblegum under the desk at school to the time that I learned that pies “r” squared. I don’t know if she ever understood a word that I said, but she would pick up on the tone of my voice and she would respond accordingly like wagging her tail when I sounded excited.

Dogs are doctors. Although Shelby didn’t get her Ph.D, she specialized in the treatment of love. One year, the flu hit me so hard that I had to go to the hospital. Eventually, I was finally allowed to suffer at home in the comforts of my own bed and Shelby was always by my side. Even though she was sleeping most of the time, the thought of her staying with me, made me feel better. She did a better job of being a pillow, and keeping me cool with her doggy slobber, compared to the doctors at the hospital who insisted that I needed to have a bazillion needles stabbed into my arm every hour.

Dogs are parents. They know the true meaning of unconditional love. In order to deal with my emotions, I often bottled them up. The simplest thing, such as Shelby using the carpet as her personal bathroom, would let these emotions fly. Growing up, whenever I did something bad, I was spanked. I just simply followed tradition, so I spanked my dog. She would whimper, go back to her bed, and then I’d call her to come sit in front of me for another spank. This pattern would go on for a few minutes until I finally sat on the floor and cried. She would come back to me every time, ignoring the fact that I just hit her. Instead, she would just lick my face and try to get under my arms so that I could hug her. She didn’t have to speak a word; her actions expressed her compassion loud enough.

To sum it all up, dogs are the best companions that you can ever find. The only reward in the world that matters to them (besides dog treats of course,) is mutual love and affection. If you take the time to care for your dog and give them a place in your heart, I can guarantee you that you will have your own place in their hearts too. It doesn’t matter about the quantity of legs, what matters the most is the heart.